Student's Class in Arabic
Draws 14 from Drake

By Sara Bouska
CyberNews Staff Reporter

February 20, 2002

Hasan Hujari (B 2), a Drake University international student, taught an Arabic language class Tuesday at Olmsted Center.

Hujiri grew up in Baharian, a tiny island (about the size of Des Moines) near Sudan. Arabic and English were both national languages, so he was well prepared to teach this class.

Hujairi said that it was simply something new for him to do. "I was kind of bored, so I decided to teach this class to other people," Hujairi said.

The class, which went from 8:30 p.m. to 9:15 p.m., attracted 14 Drake students, who were excited to learn another language.

"Drake doesn't have a foreign language program and I want to learn a language," said Alex Gates, a freshman international relations major, "I also like to yell at people in other languages."

The class began as Hujairi had students introduce themsleves, state thier major and any other languages they might know. Many of the students were international, and already knew at least two languages.

Students were then given a background on the Arabic language. It is an official language in more than 30 countries and is read from right to left. The Arabic alphabet consists of 28 letters. The calligraphy of these letters is also considered an art form.

Huairi taught the class a series of simple phrases that would be important to know if you were traveling in any Arabic-speaking country. He said he was teaching in a dialect that would be understood in any country, although many countries have a very different pronunciation of language.

A greeting that would be similar to "Hello" in English would be translated to "Peace be upon you," and was pronounced "Al-Salam Alaikom". Students were also able to say "My name is ____," and " I am from ____," in Arabic by the end of the class.

the most challenging part of learning these phrases was the pronunciation of the words. Hujairi would say the phrase and students would repeat it, often incorrectly.

After learning a seriesof phrases, the students were introduced to the first four letters of the alphabet. The pronunciation of each letter varies in many cases dues to different marks placed above of below letters.

Hujairi said, "When people learn new languages, barriers are broken among cultures. It adds to the diversity of America and it fits into the theme of the melting pot."

Kathy Townsend (FA 3) came to the class because she had been wanting to learn Arabica in particular. "My boyfriend speaks Arabic, so I wanted to learn to catch up with what he is saying. I have bought books to learn, but haven't gotten around to reading them," she said.

Swapmil Mandrekar (B 3) was interested in polishing his Arabic skills. He is an international student studying at Drake from the United Arab Emirates. "It was a really good way to teach the language. I am going to come back," he said.

The class was sponsored by the International Studtent Asociation becasue they wanted to find a way to be more active on campus. Members are also looking to create a Japanese language class by the end of this semester.